JP2001025085A - Channel arranging device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simplify setting and connection of a speaker. SOLUTION: A microcomputer 37 successively supplies test signals from a sound source device 30 through a selector SE and a channel selecting circuit 31 to speakers 22a-22f. The acoustic of test signal is collected by microphones 34-36 of a remote controller 33 and the kind and position of the speaker are discriminated. On the basis of the discriminated result, the microcomputer 37 issues an alarm for arranging the speaker at the proper position, controls the channel selecting circuit 31 and supplies the inputted regenerative signals of Dolby digital 5.1 ch to the proper speaker.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a channel arrangement device suitable for reproducing audio signals of two or more channels, such as digital television broadcasting, AV amplifiers, DVD players, and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been a demand for a sound field full of a sense of realism in order to simultaneously enjoy video and audio and to obtain an overall effect. For this reason, in theaters and the like, Dolby Digital (registered trademark) system or DTS (Digital Theater System)
Methods have been introduced. In recent years, the Dolby Digital system has been adopted also in home AV equipment.

The Dolby Digital 5.1ch is a digital application of the Dolby Surround System, and includes two front left and right stereo speakers (LF, R).
F), one center speaker (CF) is provided, two stereo speakers (LS, RS) are arranged at the rear, and an LFE (Low Frequency Effect) for a subwoofer dedicated to low frequency components. One speaker (S
W).

In Dolby Digital such as DVD, data for five channels (LF, RF, CF, LS, RS) corresponding to these five speakers and data corresponding to a low-range speaker (SW) are used. A certain subwoofer (SW) is recorded. Since the subwoofer has only a low-frequency band, it has 0.1 channels, and 5.1 channel Dolby Digital is constituted by these 5.1-channel data.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing an example of such a digital audio system, and shows a DVD audio system compatible with Dolby Digital 5.1ch.

The DVD player 1 is compatible with Dolby Digital 5.1ch and has six channels of analog output. The signal processing circuit 4 performs predetermined signal processing on the Dolby Digital 5.1ch signal read from the DVD standard disk 3 and outputs the signal to the Dolby Digital decoder 5. The Dolby digital decoder 5 decodes the input reproduced signal and outputs the decoded signal to the configuration filter 7.

The configuration filter 7 has an LF
By adding E, 5.1ch signals LF, RF, C
F, LS, RS and SW are obtained and output to a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) 6. The output of the configuration filter 7 is converted into an analog signal by the DAC 6 and output as an output of the DVD player 1.

The microcomputer 2 controls the operation of the signal processing circuit 4, the Dolby digital decoder 5, and the configuration filter 7 based on information on the key input unit 8 and the disk 3.

The 5.1-channel output from the DVD player 1 is amplified by an amplifier 18 and supplied to six speakers 22a to 22f. Speakers LF22a, RF22b, and CF22c are arranged in front of the room 22, speakers LS22d and RS22e are arranged in the rear, and speakers SW22f are arranged laterally. These speakers 22a to 22f output reproduced sounds of Dolby Digital 5.1ch as sound.

As described above, in the above-described apparatus, a sound field full of a sense of reality can be constructed by appropriately arranging six speakers in a room and supplying signals corresponding to these speakers.

However, in order to construct an optimum reproduction environment, it is necessary for the user to not only arrange the six speakers appropriately in the room but also to make complicated connections between the output terminals of the apparatus and the speakers. It has been extremely difficult for ordinary users to introduce the software due to the complexity of connection and setting.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-38300 discloses that
In a sound reproducing apparatus having a plurality of speakers, a device for automatically setting the level of a main device and the like is disclosed. In this device, too, the installation state of each speaker and connection with the device are determined by a user. You had to work on your own and had similar problems.

[0013]

As described above, conventionally, there has been a problem that connection and setting for constructing an optimum reproduction environment are extremely complicated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide a channel arrangement device which can simplify connection and setting operations.

[0015]

According to the present invention, there is provided a channel arrangement apparatus comprising: a plurality of speakers respectively corresponding to a plurality of channels of input signals; a plurality of input terminals to which the plurality of channels of input signals are respectively inputted; Channel selecting means for making a one-to-one correspondence with the speakers, sound collecting means for collecting sound output from the plurality of speakers and outputting a sound collecting signal, sound source means for generating a test signal, A signal is sequentially given to the plurality of speakers, the arrangement of the plurality of speakers is determined based on the sound pickup signals from each speaker, and based on the determination result, whether or not the plurality of speakers are arranged at regular positions is determined. Control means for notifying and controlling the channel selection means to supply the input signals of the plurality of channels to the plurality of speakers. That.

In the present invention, the control means sequentially supplies a test signal from the sound source means to each speaker to output sound. Further, the control means determines the arrangement of the plurality of speakers based on the sound pickup signal based on the test signal from the sound pickup means, and notifies whether or not the plurality of speakers are arranged at regular positions based on the judgment result. And controls the channel selection means. Thereby, input signals of a plurality of channels are automatically supplied to the corresponding speakers.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of a channel arrangement device according to the present invention.

According to the present embodiment, a test signal is sequentially supplied to each of a plurality of speakers, a microphone (hereinafter, referred to as a microphone) receives a sound, and a signal input and a connection between the speakers are automatically made based on a sound reception result. And an effective setting of the speaker can be notified, so that an optimum reproduction environment can be constructed by a simple operation.

Dolby Digital 5.1ch signals LF, RF and C are respectively applied to signal input terminals IN1 to IN6.
F, LS, RS, and SW are input. For example, these signals are the same as those output from the DVD player 1 in FIG. The signal input terminals IN1 to IN6 are connected to the input terminals 1 to 6 of the channel selection circuit 31, respectively.

Each of the input terminals 1 to 6 of the channel selection circuit 31 is also connected to a tone generator 30 via a selector SE. The tone generator 30 selects a predetermined test signal from the selector SE.
Are output to the common terminal C of Selector SE
Has output terminals SE1 to SE6, and is controlled by a microcomputer 37,
The test signal input to the common terminal C is applied to the output terminals SE1 to SE
E6 is selectively output.

The output terminals SE1 to SE6 of the selector SE are connected to the input terminals 1 to 6 of the channel selection circuit 31, respectively. The channel selection circuit 31 has six output terminals A
The input terminals 1 to 6 and the output terminals A to E can be arbitrarily connected on a one-to-one basis under the control of the microcomputer 37.

Output terminals A to E of the channel selection circuit 31
Are connected to the six input terminals of the amplifier 32. The amplifier 32 amplifies the input signal and outputs it from six output terminals. The six output terminals of the amplifier 32 are respectively connected to speakers LF22a, RF22b, CF22c, and LS2.
2d, RS22e, and SW22f.

Speakers LF22a, RF22b, CF2
2c, LS22d, RS22e, and SW22f are Dolby Digital 5.1ch left and right front speakers, center front speakers, left and right rear speakers, and subwoofer speakers. Of these speakers, speaker LF22
a, RF 22b, and CF 22c are respectively arranged at the front left, front right, and front center of the room (not shown), and the speakers LS
22d and RS 22e are arranged at the rear left and rear right of the room, and the speaker SW 22f is arranged at an appropriate position in the room.

In this embodiment, the speaker 22a
The microphone outputs sound output signals from the microphones 22 to 22f to the microcomputer 37, and controls the selector SE and the channel selection circuit 31. That is,
The microcomputer 37 sets the speaker and determines the connection.
The test signal from the sound source device 30 is transmitted to the speakers 22a to 22a.
2f, while sequentially switching to all speakers 22a.
To 22f each output sound independently,
The proper position and type of the speaker and the correct connection between the signal input and the speaker are determined. In order to reduce the complexity of wiring and the like at the time of transmitting the sound reception result of the microphone, in the present embodiment, the sound source device 30 or a remote control device (hereinafter, referred to as a remote control) such as a DVD player (not shown) is used. Is added for use.

At the time of speaker setting and connection determination, the remote controller 33 is arranged substantially at the center of the speakers 22a to 22f. Microphones 34 and 35 are attached to the left and right front ends of the remote controller 33, respectively, with a sound receiving unit (not shown) facing forward, and a microphone 36 is attached to the center of the rear end with a sound receiving unit (not shown) facing rearward. ing.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the processing block of the remote controller 33.

In FIG. 2, the front left and right microphones 34, 3
The microphone 5 at the center of the rear end and the microphone 36 at the rear end receive the output sound from each speaker, convert the sound into an electric signal, and supply the electric signal to the amplifiers 41 to 43, respectively. The amplifiers 41 to 43 amplify the input signals and output the amplified signals to the rectifiers 44 to 46, respectively. The rectifiers 44 to 46 rectify the input signal and output it to the voltage comparison circuit 47.

The voltage comparison circuit 47 includes microphones 34 to 36
The output voltage levels of the rectifiers 44 to 46 corresponding to the outputs of the above are compared, and the comparison result is output to the direction determination circuit 48. As described above, at the time of speaker setting and connection determination, each speaker outputs sound independently. The direction determination circuit 48 determines which speaker is outputting the sound based on the comparison result of the voltage levels, and also determines the direction and the distance of the speaker that outputs the sound to the remote controller 33. I have. The voltage comparison circuit 47
Can also detect the frequency characteristics of the sound signals of the microphones 34 and 36. This makes it possible to distinguish the subwoofer (SW) from other speakers.

The direction judging circuit 48 sends the judgment result to the transmitting circuit 4.
9 is output. The transmitting circuit 49 transmits the input determination result by, for example, infrared rays. The microcomputer 37 has an infrared light receiving unit, and takes in the determination result of the direction determination circuit 48 output from the transmission circuit 49. At the time of speaker setting and connection determination, the microcomputer 37 controls the selector SE and the channel selection circuit 31 so that each speaker outputs sound sequentially, and based on the determination result of the direction determination circuit 48 for the sound output of each speaker. In addition, the correct connection between the signal input terminal and each speaker is determined to control the channel selection circuit 31, and the notification of the appropriate arrangement of the speakers is made by a display unit or the like (not shown).

Next, the operation of the embodiment configured as described above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

The signal input terminals IN1 to IN6 respectively have six Dolby Digital 5.1ch reproduction signals LF, R
Supply F, CF, LS, RS, SW. The amplifier 32 and the speakers 22a to 22f may be connected in any manner.

Now, it is assumed that speaker setting and connection determination are performed. In step S1 of FIG. 3, the microcomputer 37 controls the channel selection circuit 31 to connect without crossing, that is, the input terminals 1 to 6 of the channel selection circuit 31.
Are connected to the output terminals A to F, respectively. The output terminals A to F of the channel selection circuit 31 are connected to the speakers 22a to 22f via the amplifier 32, respectively. Note that the connection state of the channel selection circuit 31 may be arbitrary as long as the correspondence between each input terminal of the channel selection circuit 31 and each speaker is clear.

In this state, the microcomputer 37 operates the selector S
By controlling E, the test signal from the tone generator 30 is sequentially supplied to each channel. That is, in step S2,
The microcomputer 37 sets T (T = 6 in this case) loops, and changes n indicating the selection of the selector SE from 1 to 6. As a result, the selector SE first selects the output terminal SE1 and sends the test signal to the channel selecting device 31.
, And thereafter output terminals SE2, SE3,.
.. Are supplied to the input terminals 2, 3,... Of the channel selecting device 31 (step S3).

When the selector SE selects the output terminal SE1, the test signal is supplied to the speaker LF22a via the channel selection circuit 31 and the amplifier 32. Thus, sound is output from the speaker 22a (step S4). This sound is picked up by three microphones 34 to 36 provided on the remote controller 33 (step S5).
Depending on the connection between the amplifier 32 and each speaker, it is not clear from which speaker the test signal is output by the control of the selector SE of the microcomputer 37 and the channel selection circuit 31 alone, but it may be used. .

The output of the microphones 34 to 36 is determined in step S
At 6 the signal is processed. That is, the microphones 34 to 36
Is supplied to a voltage comparison circuit 47 via amplifiers 41 to 43 and rectifiers 44 to 46. Voltage comparison circuit 4
7, the voltage level is compared, and the comparison result is supplied to the direction determination circuit 48. If the voltage level is extremely low, the direction determination circuit 48 determines that sound collection is impossible, and supplies the determination result to the transmission circuit 49. The transmission circuit 49 transmits the determination result to the microcomputer 37 by infrared rays. In step S13, the microcomputer 37 causes a display unit (not shown) to display a warning display indicating that sound collection is impossible.

If the sound cannot be collected, the voltage comparison circuit 4
7 determines the frequency characteristics in the next step S8. If the voltage comparison circuit 47 determines that the bass range of the received signal is at a level sufficiently higher than the treble range, the voltage comparison circuit 47 determines that the speaker is the speaker SW22f dedicated to bass. In this case, since sound is being output from the speaker 22a, the process proceeds from step S9 to step S10, and the direction is determined by the direction determination circuit 48.

The direction determining circuit 48 determines the direction of the speaker from which the sound is output based on the result of the voltage comparison, and determines the position of the speaker in step S11. The determination result of the direction determination circuit 48 is transferred to the microcomputer 37 via the transmission circuit 49. That is, the microcomputer 37 knows that the speaker that has output the sound is a speaker other than the subwoofer SW 22f, and is located at a predetermined distance to the front left of the remote controller 33.

In the next step S14, the microcomputer 37
It is determined whether or not the T loops have been completed. In this case, since T = 1, the microcomputer 37 shifts the processing to step S2 and increments n. Thus,
Next, the output terminal SE2 of the selector SE is selected, and the test signal is supplied to the speaker RF22b via the channel selection circuit 31 and the amplifier 32 (step S3).

Thereafter, the processing of steps S4 to S11 is repeated. When sound is output from the speaker SW22f, the voltage comparison circuit 47 determines that the level of the low frequency component is sufficiently higher than the high frequency component, and shifts the processing from step S9 to step S12. It is determined that the speaker outputting the sound is the speaker SW22f. The result of this determination is also transmitted to the microcomputer 37.

In this way, the results of the determination of the direction, the position, and the like are input to the microcomputer 37 for all the six speakers 22a to 22f. Next, the microcomputer 37 examines the determination results for all speakers. That is, the microcomputer 37 first performs the processing from step S14 to step S14.
The process proceeds to 15, and it is determined whether or not a speaker exists at the same position. When it is determined that the speakers are present at substantially the same position due to the speaker arrangement state or connection error, the microcomputer 37 displays a warning display on a display unit (not shown) indicating that the speakers are present at the same position. Is displayed. If not, in the next step S16, the microcomputer 37 determines whether or not a speaker is present at a specified position.

When it is determined that all the speakers are arranged at the proper positions, the microcomputer 37 ends the processing, controls the channel selection circuit 31, and inputs the signals to the signal input terminals IN1 to IN6. Instruct the connection between the input terminal and the output terminal so that the signal is supplied to the corresponding speaker. As a result, the six reproduced signals LF, RF, CF, LS, RS, and SW of 5.1ch Dolby Digital input to the signal input terminals IN1 to IN6 are output from the speakers LF22a, RF22b, CF22c, LS22d, and LS22d, respectively.
It is supplied to RS22e and SW22f. Therefore, the user does not need to know which signal input terminal should be connected to the speaker.

If there is any speaker that is not placed at the proper position, the microcomputer 37 shifts the process from step S16 to step S18, and displays a warning indicating that the speaker is not placed at the proper position. Display. Next, in step S19, the microcomputer 37 controls the channel selection circuit 31 to output a signal to be supplied to a speaker not arranged at a regular position from a speaker arranged near the regular position. To control the connection.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the test signal is sequentially supplied to each speaker to output sound independently from each speaker, and the output sound of each speaker is collected by the microphone attached to the remote controller. By determining the type, direction, and distance of the speaker that has output the sound from the level and frequency components of the output sound, a warning display for instructing a proper arrangement is displayed based on the determination result, and the optimum The connection is made automatically. This greatly simplifies the user's connection and setting work.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention. 4, the same components as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. This embodiment is an example in which a speaker having a channel selection function is used.

In this embodiment, the speakers LF22a, RF
22b, CF22c, LS22d, RS22e, SW2
Speakers LF51a, RF51b, C instead of 2f
The present embodiment differs from the embodiment of FIG. 1 in that F51c, LS51d, RS51e, and SW51f are employed, the channel selection circuit 31 is omitted, and similar functions are provided for the speakers 51a to 51f.

The signals input to the signal input terminals IN1 to IN6 are supplied to the speakers 51a to 51f via the amplifier 32 and the cable 52. The test signals from the output terminals SE1 to SE6 of the selector SE are also supplied to the speakers 51a to 51f via the amplifier 32 and the cable 52.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the speakers 51a to 51f. It is clear that the speakers 51a to 51f do not have the same acoustic characteristics and the like. The cable 52 connecting the amplifier 32 and the speakers 51a to 51f has a multi-core structure.
N (in FIG. 4, n = 6) input terminals (corresponding to n channels), each of which has n acoustic signal lines for transmitting signals input thereto and one for transmitting a selection signal from the microcomputer 37. And a selection signal line.

The n audio signal lines are connected to the channel selection circuit 55 of each of the speakers 51a to 51f, and one selection signal line is connected to the deformatter 56. The selection signal from the microcomputer 37 is serially transmitted on one selection signal line. The selection signal has a header, and the header clearly indicates which speaker the selection signal is for.

The deformatter 56 has an identifier (SP-n) for uniquely specifying each speaker. The identifier may be fixedly set when the product is shipped from the factory, or the identifier may be selectable by the user. The deformatter 56 sends a channel 1 (CH-1) to n (CH) to the channel selection circuit 55 based on a selection signal from the microcomputer 37.
-n) is set. This channel setting is performed for each speaker.

In the channel selection circuit 55 of each of the speakers 51a to 51f, a channel is set independently by each deformatter 56. Each deformatter 56 supplies an audio signal corresponding to the set channel to the output unit 57 so as to output the sound.

Next, the operation of the embodiment configured as described above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 6, the same steps as those in FIG. 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

The signal input terminals IN1 to IN6 are connected to six Dolby Digital 5.1ch reproduction signals LF and R, respectively.
Supply F, CF, LS, RS, SW. Now, it is assumed that speaker setting and connection determination are performed. Microcomputer 37
Outputs a selection signal in step S21 of FIG. 6 to convert all of SP-1 to SP-T (T = 6 in the example of FIG. 4) to CH-2.
Set to. For example, it is assumed that the identifiers of the speakers 51a to 51f are SP-1 to SP-6, respectively. Each speaker 5
The deformatters 1a to 51f set the channel selected by each channel selection circuit 55 to CH-2.

Next, the microcomputer 37 supplies a test signal to CH-1 in step S22. That is, the microcomputer 3
7 controls the selector SE to supply a test signal from the sound source device 30 to an input terminal corresponding to CH-1 of the amplifier 32. While the test signal is flowing through the acoustic signal line corresponding to CH-1 in the cable 52, the channel selection circuit 5
No. 5 selects a signal line corresponding to CH-2, so that no sound is output from all speakers 51a to 51f at this stage.

Next, a loop of T times is set in step S2. Next, the microcomputer 37 proceeds to step S
At 23, a selection signal is output and SP-1 is set to CH-1. Assuming that n is 1, the speaker of SP-1, that is, the speaker LF51a is caused to select CH-1. The deformatter 56 of the speaker 51a causes the channel selection circuit 55 to select a signal line corresponding to CH-1 based on the selection signal. The test signal is supplied to the output unit 57 via the signal line selected by the channel selection circuit 55 of the speaker 51a, and is output as sound.

As a result, sound based on the test signal is output only from the speaker LF51a (step S2).
Four). The processing of the following steps S5 to S10, S12, and S13 is the same as the operation flow of FIG. In step S25, the speaker position of the speaker 51a is determined and stored as the position information of the speaker 51a specified by the identifier SP-1. The determination of the speaker position is performed by the direction determination circuit 48 in the remote controller 33 in the same manner as in the embodiment of FIG. 1, and the position information is stored in a memory (not shown) of the microcomputer 37.

In the next step S26, CH-2 is set to the speaker 51a having the identifier SP-1. Thereby, the speaker 5
1a is silenced like other speakers. Thereafter, the processing from step S23 to step S26 is repeated until n becomes 6. Thus, the microcomputer 37 includes the identifier SP-1.
The position information of all the speakers 51a to 51f indicated by SP6 is stored. Note that the voltage comparison circuit 47 determines that only the low-frequency component is acoustically output for the speaker SW 51f, and the fact that the speaker SW 51f is the subwoofer speaker SW is stored as information.

The procedure for examining the determination result of the position information for each speaker is the same as in the embodiment of FIG. In step S27, a warning as to whether the deformatter identifier is unique is also displayed.

The microcomputer 37 outputs a selection signal based on the determination result of the position information so that the signals input to the signal input terminals IN1 to IN6 are acoustically output from the corresponding speakers. Thereby, the signal input terminals IN1 to IN1
The six reproduced signals LF, RF, CF, LS, RS, and SW of Dolby Digital 5.1ch input to N6 are speakers LF51a, RF51b, CF51c, and L, respectively.
It is supplied to S51d, RS51e, and SW51f. Therefore, the user does not need to know which signal input terminal should be connected to the speaker.

When the positions of the speakers 51a to 51f deviate from the regular positions, a warning display similar to that of the embodiment of FIG. 1 is displayed. The user can refer to this warning display. Thus, each speaker can be easily arranged at a regular position.

As described above, also in this embodiment, FIG.
The same effect as that of the embodiment can be obtained.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention. 7, the same components as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. This embodiment is an example in which an audio signal is also transmitted serially.

In this embodiment, the speakers LF22a, RF
22b, CF22c, LS22d, RS22e, SW2
Speaker LF65a, RF65b, C instead of 2f
F65c, LS65d, RS65e, and SW65f are employed, and the output of the channel selection circuit 31 is
And a cable 6 composed of one signal line
3 is different from the embodiment of FIG.

The output of the channel selection circuit 31 is supplied to a formatter 62. The formatter 62 serially transmits the audio signals from the respective output terminals A to F of the channel selection circuit 31 and, as a header of the audio signals, a speaker corresponding to the output terminals A to F of the channel selection circuit 31 in a one-to-one correspondence. To the cable 63
Output. That is, a speaker that outputs a sound signal to be transmitted after the header is indicated by the header. As a result, even when one transmission line is used, the independence of the signals of each channel can be ensured. The formatter 62 and the speakers 65a to 65f are connected by a cable 63.

FIG. 8 shows speakers 65a to 65f in FIG.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the device. The speaker 6
It is clear that the acoustic characteristics and the like of 5a to 65f are not the same.

The signal transmitted by the cable 63 is supplied to each of the deformatters 66 of the speakers 65a to 65f. The deformatter 66 deforms the header portion of the input signal and determines which speaker identifier is set. The audio signal is output to the D / A conversion circuit 67 only when the identifiers match.
The D / A conversion circuit 67 converts the input audio signal into an analog signal and outputs the analog signal to the amplifier 68. The amplifier 68 amplifies the input audio signal and outputs it to the output unit 69. The output unit 69 outputs sound based on the input sound signal.

Although the description has been made on the assumption that the transmitted acoustic signal is a digital signal, it is apparent that the transmitted acoustic signal may be an analog signal.

Next, the operation of the embodiment configured as described above will be described.

The control of the microcomputer 37 at the time of speaker setting and connection determination is the same as in the embodiment of FIG.
The microcomputer 37 instructs the channel selection circuit 31 to connect without crossing, and switches the input terminal of the channel selection circuit 31 that supplies the test signal by the selector SE. The deformatter 62 outputs, for example, a test signal to the cable 63 by adding headers corresponding to the output terminals A to F of the channel selection circuit 31 to the speakers 65a to 65f, respectively.

For example, when the selector SE selects the output terminal SE1, a test signal is transmitted by a data string in which an identifier indicating the speaker 65a is specified by the header. This test signal is supplied to the D / A conversion circuit 67 through the deformatter 66 of the speaker 65a, and is output as sound from the output unit 69 through the amplifier 68. Therefore, in this case, a sound based on the test signal is output by the speaker 65a.

Thereafter, the microcomputer 37 sequentially switches the output terminals of the selector SE, and outputs the test signals to the speakers 65b to 65b.
5f. This operation is similar to that of the embodiment shown in FIG.

As described above, also in this embodiment, FIG.
The same effect as that of the embodiment can be obtained.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention. 9, the same components as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. This embodiment is an example in which a microphone is omitted.

This embodiment differs from the embodiment of FIG. 1 in that the remote controller 33 is omitted and a selector 72, a microphone amplifier 73, a mean square circuit 74, and a delay timekeeping circuit 75 are added.

In this embodiment, at the time of speaker setting and connection determination, a speaker other than the speaker that outputs a test signal as sound is operated as a microphone. The selector 72 is controlled by the microcomputer 37 (not shown) and operates in conjunction with the channel selection circuit 31 and the selector SE. That is, the selector 72
Connects the speaker that supplies the test signal to the amplifier 32 and connects the other speakers to the microphone amplifier 73 when setting the speakers and determining the connection. The selector 72 supplies the output of the amplifier 32 to each of the speakers 22a to 22f at the time of actual use.

The microphone amplifier 73 amplifies the collected sound signals of the speakers 22 a to 22 f and outputs the amplified signals to the mean square circuit 74. A test signal from the sound source device 30 is also supplied to the mean square circuit 74, and the mean square circuit 74 calculates the mean square of the test signal and the input sound pickup signal, and outputs the calculation result to a delay timekeeping circuit. Output to 75. The delay timing circuit 75
By measuring the signal arrival time to each speaker that has picked up the sound based on the input square mean result, the speaker 2
The positions of 2a to 22f are obtained. The delay time counting circuit 75 outputs information on the obtained position of each speaker to the microcomputer 37.

Next, the operation of the embodiment configured as described above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In FIG. 10, the same steps as those in FIG. 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

At the time of speaker setting and connection determination, speakers other than one speaker that outputs sound based on the test signal are operated as substitute microphones. That is, in step S31, the microcomputer 37 controls the selector SE, the channel selection circuit 31, and the selector 72 to supply a test signal to the n-th channel and supply a sound pickup signal from another speaker to the microphone amplifier 73. Configure the connection to

In step S4, sound is output from the speaker to which the test signal has been supplied, and in step S32, another speaker operates as a substitute microphone to collect sound. The sound pickup signals of these substitute microphones are supplied to the microphone amplifier 73 via the selector 72, and the signal processing of step S33 is performed.

That is, the picked-up signal amplified by the microphone amplifier 73 is supplied to the root-mean-squaring circuit 74, and is root-mean-squared together with the test signal. The delay time counting circuit 75 obtains a signal arrival time to each speaker based on a root-mean-square result based on the test signal. The microcomputer 37 supplies a test signal to all speakers, and the delay timekeeping circuit 75
The position of each speaker is obtained from the calculation result of the signal arrival time for all the speakers.

The other operations are the same as those of the embodiment shown in FIG.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the same effects as in the embodiment of FIG. 1 can be obtained. Further, in the present embodiment, the microphone can be omitted, and operations such as disposing a remote controller can be omitted.
The setting work becomes easier.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention. 11, the same components as those in FIG. 7 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. FIG. 12 shows FIG.
It is a block diagram which shows the internal structure of speaker 81a-81f inside.

In the present embodiment, a formatter 80 is employed in place of the formatter 62, and the speakers LF65a, RF6
5b, CF65c, LS65d, RS65e, SW65
speaker LF81a, RF81b, CF instead of f
The embodiment differs from the embodiment of FIG. 7 in that the channel selection circuit 31 is omitted by employing 81c, LS81d, RS81e, and SW81f. Also in the present embodiment, an audio signal is transmitted serially.

The formatter 80 receives a selection signal from the microcomputer 37. The formatter 80 serially transmits the audio signal and the selection signal of each channel input to the input terminals 1 to 6 by distinguishing them by a header.

The selection signal is a signal for determining which channel of the audio signal is to be selected, and is added corresponding to each speaker. A selection signal identifier is added to the selection signal as a header. The selection signal identifier sets the correspondence between each speaker and the selection signal in the same manner as the speaker identifier, and the selection signal identifier determines in advance which selection signal each speaker uses.

Further, an audio signal identifier is added to each audio signal as a header. The sound signal identifier indicates which position of the speaker should reproduce and output the sound signal, and indicates the channel of the sound signal.
By specifying the channel indicated by the sound signal identifier by the selection signal, each speaker can select and output the specified sound signal from the sound signals serially transmitted from the formatter 80.

Each of the speakers 81a to 81f includes a deformatter 84, a D / A conversion circuit 87, an amplifier 88, and an output unit 89. The selection signal deformatter 85 is assigned a selection signal identifier for each speaker, and selects a selection signal unique to each speaker. The selection signal is supplied to the selected audio signal deformatter 86, and the deformatter 86 selects the audio signal of the channel specified by the selection signal and performs D / A conversion circuit 87.
Output to The D / A conversion circuit 87 converts the input signal into a digital signal and supplies the digital signal to the amplifier 88.
Amplifies the input acoustic signal and outputs it to the output unit 89. The output unit 89 outputs sound based on the input sound signal.

Next, the operation of the embodiment configured as described above will be described.

The microcomputer 37 outputs a selection signal for designating a channel to be selected for each speaker to the formatter 80. The formatter 80 adds a selection signal identifier corresponding to each speaker to the selection signal for each speaker as a header. In addition, the formatter 80 adds, as a header, an audio signal identifier indicating the channel to the audio signals input to the input terminals 1 to 6. The selection signal, the selection signal identifier, the audio signal, and the audio signal identifier are serially transmitted to each of the speakers 81 a to 81.
1f.

The deformatters 85 of the speakers 81a to 81f take out a selection signal corresponding to the selection signal identifier assigned to each speaker and output the selection signal to the deformatter 86. The deformatter 86, by the selection signal,
Select the audio signal of the specified channel. As a result, each speaker can selectively take in the audio signal input to the input terminals 1 to 6 of the formatter 80.

The acoustic signal selected by the deformatter 84 is converted back to an analog signal by the D / A conversion circuit 87, amplified by the amplifier 88, and outputted as sound from the output unit 89.

At the time of speaker setting and connection determination, the microcomputer 37 causes each speaker to output sound sequentially based on the test signal by the control of the selector SE and the selection signal. Other operations are the same as those in the embodiment of FIG.

As described above, also in the present embodiment, the same effects as in the embodiment of FIG. 7 can be obtained.

Further, various combinations are possible in the present invention. For example, FIG. 13 shows an example in which a selector is built in a speaker using a substitute microphone. 13, the same components as those in FIGS. 4 and 9 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

In the example of FIG. 13, the sound signal from the selector 72 and the selection signal from the microcomputer 37 are
Are supplied to the speakers 51a to 51f via the. According to the selection signal, sound signals of six channels can be selectively supplied to the speakers 51a to 51f.

The other structures and operations are the same as those of the embodiment shown in FIGS.

FIGS. 14 and 15 show a combination of the above-described embodiments, in which the position of the channel selection circuit and serial transmission are combined with the embodiment of FIG. In FIGS. 15 and 16, the same components as those in the above-described embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals. The deformatter 100 is for reformatting the format used when transmitting the collected sound signals from the speakers 90a to 90f. The output of the formatter 62 or 80 is serially transmitted by one cable and supplied to the speakers 90a to 90f.

As shown in FIG. 16, the speakers 90a to 90f determine whether or not data addressed to themselves is transmitted by the deformatter 91. Deformatter 91
Supplies an audio signal addressed to itself to a D / A conversion circuit 92 to convert it into an analog signal. After the output of the D / A conversion circuit 92 is amplified by the amplifier 93, the sound is output from the output unit 95 via the switch 94.

When the sound output from another speaker is picked up by the output unit 95, the picked-up signal is supplied from the switch 94 to the amplifier 96. The amplifier 96 amplifies the picked-up signal and supplies the amplified signal to an A / D conversion circuit 97.
Output to The formatter 98 adds its own identifier to the digital sound pickup signal and transmits the signal to the cable.

The present invention can be variously modified in addition to the above embodiments without departing from the gist of the proposal. For example, although the example of six Dolby Digital speakers has been described, the present invention can also be applied to other systems.
Obviously, the number of channels is not limited.

[0101]

As described above, according to the present invention, there is an effect that connection and setting operations can be simplified.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a channel arrangement device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a remote controller 33 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of speakers 51a to 51f in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the embodiment of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of speakers 65a to 65f in FIG.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the embodiment in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of speakers 81a to 81f in FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 shows speakers 90a to 9 in FIGS. 14 and 15;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of 0f.

FIG. 17 is a DV compatible with Dolby Digital 5.1ch.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a D audio system.

[Explanation of symbols]

22a to 22f speaker, 30 sound source device, 31 channel selection circuit, 32 amplifier, 33 remote controller, 3
4 to 36: microphone, 37: microcomputer, SE: selector.

Claims (9)

[Claims] A plurality of speakers respectively corresponding to input signals of a plurality of channels; and a plurality of input terminals to which the input signals of the plurality of channels are respectively input and a plurality of speakers corresponding to the plurality of speakers in a one-to-one correspondence. Sound collecting means for collecting sound output from the plurality of speakers and outputting a collected signal; sound source means for generating a test signal; and sequentially providing the test signal to the plurality of speakers. The arrangement of the plurality of speakers is determined based on the sound pickup signal, and based on the determination result, it is notified whether the plurality of speakers are arranged at regular positions, and the channel control unit is controlled to control the channel selection unit. Control means for supplying input signals of a plurality of channels to the plurality of speakers. 2. The channel arrangement device according to claim 1, wherein said channel selection means connects said plurality of input terminals and said plurality of speakers in a one-to-one manner. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the channel selection means supplies the input signals input to the plurality of input terminals to the plurality of speakers on a one-to-one basis by serial transmission with a destination. The channel arrangement device according to claim 1. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit uses the channel selection unit to sequentially supply the test signal to the plurality of speakers. 5. The channel allocation device according to claim 4, wherein the control means sequentially supplies the test signals to the plurality of speakers by serial transmission with a destination. 6. The channel arrangement device according to claim 1, wherein said sound collecting means is a remote control device having a built-in microphone. 7. The channel arrangement device according to claim 1, wherein the sound collecting means is a speaker other than a speaker outputting sound based on the test signal among the plurality of speakers. 8. The channel according to claim 1, wherein the control unit determines the positions of the plurality of speakers based on a level and a phase difference of the plurality of collected signals from each speaker. Placement device. 9. The channel allocation device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit determines an arrangement of the plurality of speakers based on a frequency band of the collected sound signal.